The Canadian national men’s hockey roster for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics was announced on Wednesday morning, with 25 individuals being named to that team.

A pair of Calgary Flames veterans – forward Nazem Kadri and blueliner MacKenzie Weegar – were reportedly in the mix for Team Canada spots but weren’t named to the roster. (Weegar told media on Wednesday morning that he remains on standby in case Canada needs him, and joked that his travel plans during the Olympic break have cancellation insurance.)

But with the remaining Olympic teams yet to be officially announced, which Flames players could be headed to Italy in February? Here’s our best guess based on what we think we know.

Pospisil was one of the six players already named to Slovakia’s preliminary roster months back. He’s currently on the injury reserve list after being injured prior to the start of the regular season, but he’s skating again and the Flames are hoping he can return in the next little while if he continues to progress.

If Pospisil’s healthy enough to play NHL games prior to the Olympic break, we’re betting he plays Olympic games, too.

Andersson was part of Sweden’s entry at the 4 Nations Face-Off and he really hasn’t done anything to lower his stock. Heck, he captained Sweden’s entry at the World Championships and has been having a heck of a 2025-26 season so far. He’s been the Flames’ top blueliner – and arguably their best player overall – and he’s currently in the top 20 for points by a defenceman, and sits third for points by a Swedish defenceman.

Andersson’s pretty much a lock at this point.

14 Czech forwards have played NHL games this season, with seven of them being NHL regulars – among them is Klapka. Klapka played for the Czech national team at the World Championships and he’s currently sixth among Czech forwards in points. Klapka might have entered this season as a bubble guy for Czechia, but it would be hard to justify keeping him off the roster given his performances with the Flames so far this season.

If you’ve followed the Flames for any length of time, you’re probably aware that Backlund, the Flames’ captain, is good at hockey. He’s been one of the top two-way players in the league for years, and he’s been a really strong tough-minutes option for the Flames. This season he’s been quite strong offensively – he sits 12th among Swedish NHL forwards in points – and defensively – he sits third among Swedish NHL forwards in plus/minus.

He turns 37 in March so maybe Sweden opts for a younger option, but at the very least we think Backlund – a longtime fixture with Sweden’s national team – has made decision-making for the national team brass pretty tough. He’s probably a bubble guy given Sweden’s forward depth, but we could see him making it.

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